Pair Of Shepherdesses From The Consulate Period, Jacob Frères, Rue Meslée.

Pair of mahogany and mahogany veneer bergères. The front legs are lion hocks ending in claws and the back legs are sabers. The armrests rest on swan busts and are attached to the backs by a stylized dolphin tail. Mounted with small round dowels. The carving of these seats is admirable in quality and knowledge of animal anatomy. If the Directory and the Consulate period brought Etruscan-style seats into fashion, the Jacob brothers distinguished themselves by the quality of their carving, like our feet which precisely reproduce the skeleton and musculature, as well as the pads under the feet. The swan busts are also very precise at the level of the beaks and wings. Although they are not stamped on the visible parts, these two exceptional bergères are attributed to the Jacob brothers Rue Meslée. These two armchairs date from the end of the 18th century or the very beginning of the 19th century. They are in good condition for their age, with some discreet old repairs. They are covered in a quality velvet, in good condition but a little faded by the sun in places. Delivery possible, please contact us. In the Jacob family of cabinetmakers, there is first the father: Georges Jacob, known as the great Jacob. The latter, son of winegrowers from Yonne, settled in Paris in 1755. Jacob trained alongside Louis Delanois, supplier to the Countess du Barry, then opened his own workshop first on rue de Cléry and then on rue Meslée. There, he made Louis XVI style furniture for the royal family, notably for the brothers of Louis XVI (Count of Provence and Artois) and Marie Antoinette. During the Revolution, finding himself ruined, he opted for the Greco-Roman style, called the Directoire style. (LINE 3-4) In 1796, Jacob passed the baton to his two sons: George II Jacob (the eldest) and François Honoré Georges Jacob. The latter took over the company under the name "Jacob frères". During the turbulent period of the Consulate, they produced Consulate-style furniture and announced the new Empire style in their orders for the First Consul, Napoleon Bonaparte. (LINE 4-5) Upon the death of George II in 1803, George the father joined forces with his son François, who took the name Desmalter. Their company "Jacob Desmalter et Cie" marked the period of the First Empire by working for the Imperial Court and in particular for the Emperor himself. This period marked the peak of the family business until the fall of the Empire in 1813.